ANDRA TOP DOORSLAMER CHAMPION: DANIEL GREGORINI

Daniel Gregorini won his first National Top Doorslammer Championship this year after a impressive season with two events wins and 3 top qualifying awards.

How did you get into drag racing?

My dad used to race back in 1987 at Ravenswood when I was 3 years old in a HZ premier running 12s in SS/T from there he upgraded to a LX hatchback Torana in SS/A in 1995 running in the low 10sec range , from there we worked on the car and go It into the high 9 seconds where I took over in late 2001 when I turned 17 . 5 years later and 1 local #1 championship under my belt that was sold to step up to our current car which we debuted in jan 2009 So this season just finished completed my 20th season / year in drag racing

Why do you choose to compete in the Top Doorslammer category?

Do you have plans to try other classes? As a young kid at ravenswood I always loved blown cars and followed “ I’m not goner lie “ john Zappia he was every kids favorite. I did love pro stock cars when I was growing up but sitting on the hill in the mid 2000s when top Doorslammer was made a class nothing else tops the excitement on the hill when the likes of zap , Fabietti, bray , kapiris came out and did half track skids the crowd would go of and from that moment it was a dream to one day do it . In 2007 I was luckily enough that when I finished my apprenticeship in Autobody Refinishing my boss at the time Dominic Ilarda was retiring so the opportunity arose to take over and buy the business with the support of my parents to back the loan with our family home I purchased it which Scratch & Match Autocolour was started then allowed me to work hard dark till dark weekends what ever it took to build a top Doorslammer No other plans to try other classes

* What was your journey like to the Top Doorslammer category?

We first built the car to run a few different classes AA/AP the main one so this car is 12” wider then ya standard Doorslammer , we started of running a roots supercharger running AA/AP then occasionally run TD when the show came to town , we started to travel a meeting or 2 every year to see what that was like . In 2015/16 we upgraded to a PSI and went full Top Doorslammer trim where we continued to chip away at our race developments until in 2018/19 we invested into the best parts possible on the market . Noonan Cylinder heads , Chance Convertor, QuickDrive and a liberty 5 sp gearbox all run threw a TSP billet 11” rear end diff. After a year or 2 adjusting to the new combination it’s now seen us be competitive, go quick and fast . Most meetings now u flip a coin to see who will top qualify or go fast MPH between me and john with us setting the ANDRA MPH record last year in Darwin.

What was your favourite event of the 2021/2022 season and why?

All of the ADRC events were memorable for us as we did great in all of them , we got fast MPH at all of the events this season and 3 of 5 quickest ETs and 3 of 5 Top Qualifier but the 2022 Westernationals would have to be the most favorite and memorable as we took home a Win over john in the finals and took home Top qualifier and Fast MPH and quick ET a clean sweep.

* Now that some time has passed, has it sunk in that you are the National Champion?

What does it mean to you to have achieved the title? It started to sink in leading up to the event but we hadn’t had it locked away so with such a big leed going into the grand finals i was feeling great leading into the event , it completes my racing career . You always have goals to set some a high but to win a ANDRA Xmas tree is the first step and in a highly competitive group 1 class like TD that’s huge , setting ANDRA records we are the current MPH record holder then to win a national championship was never one of the goals as I never thought the little team from Bayswater WA could achieve but anytime I ever wanna stop racing I along with my team can hold our head up high as we achieved something we never thought was possible and to stop johns 10/11 year streak domination of the class is something no other west Australian has achieved.

What was the highlight of your season aside from taking out the title?

The team work of my team and the commitment and never give up attitude is amazing , also the team spent all season with assistant crew members ( Lisas all girl team ) training them step buy step and still maintaining there best quality work on my car . The addition of the 2nd car to the team a lot thought would distract me and effect my ability to tune and drive my car but to the haters Thank You, You guys are the ones that make me push and help me succeed more then ever .

What are your plans for the upcoming season?

We have a combination that I’m 100% sure will run into the 5.5s so my goals are to keep chipping away at that , be consistent and keep doing what we do best . Once that goal is achieved it’s time for a new chassis and car from Jim Salemi at Gforce Race cars a lighter narrower sleeker car would help us go faster and quicker right ? To get Lisa licenced and competing along side me in TD which we are hoping will be in Round 1 at Hidden Valley ( if the new championship is released by then please include that )

Who would you like to thank for the roles they have played in your title season?

Myself and Lisa would like to thank ANDRA , ADRC, And all the staff and volunteers at the tracks we attended threw out the 21/22 championship season we met some great people in Darwin and Alice Springs and we can’t wait to get back to those tracks Our crew Peter Gregorini , Neil Bruce , Chris Petruzzo, Graham Bruce and Tony Petruzzo Maria Gregorini , Renee Simms , Hannah Johns, Mikayla Tipper and Melly Howard Along the way thanks to liz Johns , Adam Stewart , James Rowland , Matt Gullotto , Ryan Learmonth and Wayne Keys . I apologize as there’s many more that have helped over the years but this reward is for the past and present . Major sponsors : Scratch & Match Autocolour Kerb Doctor Westcoast Siteworks Kendall oils Oil & Energy S & S Industries Dalisa Estate Winery Supporting sponsors : Signbiz WA Go print Dirty detailing Final Drive Engineering Gforce race cars Resolution racing services DMPE Applied Automotive Kinetic Engineering.